I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicle cargo area divider systems for interfitting with the bed of a pickup truck and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a vehicle cargo area divider system for interfitting with the walls of a pickup truck where the system includes one or more removable divider portions and removable inserts interattachable with the liner or with the walls of a cargo area of a vehicle.
II. Description of the Relevant Art
The increasing popularity of the pickup truck can easily be noted by anyone who travels on highways. Automobile companies have noted dramatic growth in the market for pickup trucks and similar vehicles. This is probably due to the fact that these types of vehicles offer extremely practical transportation while concurrently being useable for work and the like. Many auto vehicle owners now have pickup trucks are "second cars" to fill the need for being able to move materials and goods practically and comfortably when necessary.
Very shortly after the explosive growth of the sale of pickup trucks was noted, owners sought ways of protecting their investment. Such ways include seat covers, paint coatings, protective molding and the like. However, probably the most important protective device available for the pickup truck owner is the now very popular bed liner. The pickup truck bed liner is composed of a polymerized material, such as a very hard plastic, and may be easily slipped into the bed of a pickup truck for protection of the bed from scratches and form the elements.
With the pickup truck and bed liner combination, many owners sought to maximize the utility of their pickup truck. Particularly, owners sought to keep, for example, tools in the bed of the pickup truck. To keep tools in the bed of the pickup truck without their rolling and shifting about required the purchase and installation of a pickup truck bed box. However, the bed box has relatively limited utility in that its primary function is directed at the keeping and storage of tools and the like. It is not, for example, directed at use such as may be found for keeping larger and more cumbersome items.
Accordingly, other methods of maximizing the utilization of the pickup truck bed were sought. One such answer was to include in the pickup truck bed a series of dividers whereby the pickup truck owner could divide the bed into two or more sections, each section being useable for the carriage of different items.
However, while simple in principle, such dividers are not so easily fitted into the pickup truck bed liner. This is particularly true when the pickup truck bed liner does not provide for slots and the like.
There is a particular type of very popular liner on the market which includes along its walls a plurality of V-shaped, tapered and depressed inserts. These inserts make installation of a divider wall very impractical because the wall itself is not longer flush because of their presence.
Accordingly, although the bed liner itself has many practical applications, its utility is limited by the impracticality of fitting a divider system into the bed liner, particularly when the bed liner is of the type that has tapered depressed inserts define din its walls. Prior approaches at overcoming the known problems of maximizing the utility of pickup truck beds have failed.